The Domaine du Triptyque Story
Domaine du Triptyque became our first Chablis after a long search. We visited Chablis 4 times over 15 months and tasted a lot of wines, but we think we found something special here.
Tommy Chevallier took over the vines and cereal land of his uncle in 2018, but made wines under his own name for the first time in 2023. He farms 8 hectares of vines, a part of which are organic, and 300 hectares of (organic) wheat. He has made a great start as a wine producer, and is already impressively distributed both through France and in Europe and the Far East.
He picks his grapes by hand and is organically-certified, making his own organic composts. These two facts might not seem noteworthy, but in this part of France, both are extremely unusual, and worth a few words of explanation. Machine harvesting counts for 90% of all the vines in Chablis. I do allow that machines are much improved in recent years. They also allow speed harvesting, which can be crucial when the weather turns and berries are fragile. But grapes are brought to the winery in the best conditions when carefully harvested by hand. Then they can also be whole-bunch-pressed. It is no surprise that the ‘reference’ names in Chablis all harvest by hand.
Organic viticulture becomes more challenging in northerly climates, and we have the example of 2024 fresh in mind. Mildew problems hit hard the whole of Burgundy, including Chablis in 2024. But the concept of a living soil is crucial and, whether certified or not, these are the small but crucial differences which allow a wine to stand out. There are only 38 growers certified organic in Chablis – around 7% of the total.
Domaine du Triptyque Wines
For Tommy it’s ‘tension’, ‘acidity’ and ‘terroir specificity’ that he is after. He uses a little sulphur, but no other additives. In general, the style of 2024 brings a welcome return to the days when Chablis was lean and taut, but for palates more familiar with the riper style from recent warm vintages, some of the 2024s can look a bit sour and tart. Tommy uses varying proportions of stainless steel, concrete and oak (only 10%) for his ‘élevage’ which brings a little micro-oxidation and, I feel, loosens the wines up just enough.
We have two comparable wines to offer: In both cases the vinification took place mostly in cement tanks, with 10% aged in 5-year-old barriques. After ‘assemblage’ the wines rested in stainless steel for 4 months before November bottling. Vines in both wines are 35 years old. Both wines were very lightly chaptalised in 2024, and have an alcohol level of just 12%
Domaine du Triptyque, Chablis ‘Sur la Foret’ 2025
A blend from two parcels in Courgis and Beine. The Beine parcel, just to the west of Chablis, lies high up at 260m – above the Vau Ligneau Premier Cru, with a South West exposure. Topsoil is minimal, rock lies just under the surface. The Courgis parcel is a bit lower, on a coarse marl soil over
This has a bright, fresh and taut nose. We say steely for Chablis, and this does smell like a cutlery drawer. In the mouth there is a faint hint of lactic creaminess, and there is some richness, complexity and weight for such a vibrant wine.
Domaine du Triptyque, Chablis ‘Rosette’ 2024
This grows lower down, at 220m asl, on a much deeper heavier clay soil over a Kimmeridgian base rock, just at the bottom of Premier Cru Beauregards. There is less sunlight here, the wine has a little less alcohol. The vines here too are 35 years old. but actually feels a bit richer and mouth-filling. This is a new parcel for Tommy. It’s farmed identically to the Chablis above but not yet certified organic.
White
| Description |
|---|
| Chablis, ‘Sur la Foret’ 2024 |
| Chablis, ‘Rosette’ 2024 |